Today is my first post for #TwelveLoaves. And I couldn't be more excited. I get to share my grandmother's recipe for gingerbread. Every year around Christmas, my grandma would bake dozens of cakes and deliver them to all of her friends and my granddad's work colleagues. My mom likes to tell the story of how she and her two siblings would be buckled in the backseat of the car, all bundled up in their winter's best, each with a cake on their lap.

My grandma isn't with us anymore, but I get to carry on the tradition tenfold by sharing her recipe for gingerbread on my blog and adding my own twist on it with a light lemon buttercream icing. It's like a flat icing because it doesn't have to be whipped, but it accent's grandma's gingerbread with fresh lemon juice and freshly grated lemon zest. The gingerbread loaf itself is dark from molasses and spicy from ground AND fresh ginger. The fresh ginger is my addition, too. Every time I post a recipe, I try to do my grandma proud and I think she'd be proud of this one. Especially since it's hers.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat together butter, molasses, sugar, eggs, and fresh ginger with an electric mixer at medium speed until combined. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until smooth, then add hot water and mix until combined.

Pour batter into pans and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool to warm in pan on a rack.

When loaves are completely cool, stir together heavy cream, powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice and lemon zest in a small bowl. Pour icing over cooled loaves. Cut and serve or wrap tightly and store in the refrigerator.

Nikki! I love this post! I love how you are honoring your grandma's memory and carrying on the tradition. Your description, too, of your mom sitting in the backseat holding the gingerbread is precious, too =) AND I love this recipe with your addition of the lemon ginger accented topping =)

I'm sorry your Grandma isn't with us anymore but I'm sure if she knew that you're keeping her tradition alive, she'd be so, so proud! I love the addition of lemon icing - I wish I could grab a slice and dig in!!

Beautiful bread Nikki! The holidays are not the same without gingerbread! I think you did your grandmother proud. I especially love your addition of fresh ginger as well. And lemon icing...don't even get me started! : )

This is stunning. I love recipes that have strong family connections. As someone who has lost both her parents and all her grandparents I really value family recipes and traditions. So sorry your grandmother is no longer with us, but she gets to live on through you. That's pretty special.

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About Me

Nikki Miller-Ka is a professional food blogger and food critic based in North Carolina. She writes and bites about local and regional restaurant trends, solo travel and develops original seasonal recipes here on Nik Snacks.
In addition, she is the food editor at Triad City Beat newspaper, the Casual Dining columnist in the Greensboro News & Record and tour guide for Taste Carolina Gourmet Food Tours.
Miller-Ka was classically trained at Le Cordon Bleu College Of Culinary Arts in Miami and holds degrees in English from East Carolina University. Formerly, she’s been a judge for the James Beard Foundation, featured in Southern Living Magazine & New York Magazine, worked an editorial assistant, news reporter and guest blogger for various publications and outlets in the Southeast. She has worked as a catering chef, a pastry chef, a butcher, a baker, and a biscuit-maker.